New Moon
by ANG3L423
Summary: The sequel to Twilight . Alice and Bella as the main characters.
1. Chapter 1

I lay in bed, the sun blinding me through my closed eyelids. I rolled over and shaded my eyes, attempting to go back into my dream world, but it was shattered when the door opened and Charlie came in.

"Happy birthday!" He said cheerily.

I grumbled but smiled and drew the covers off myself.

"So how do you feel now you're finally eighteen?" He sat on the end of my bed, a bag at his feet.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, pushing my hair back out of my face. "Tired."

He laughed, "Nothing's changed then."

He bent down and put the bag on the end of my bed. "Your birthday presents." He pointed at the bag, "I didn't know what you wanted so I've had a talk with your mom and we sorted something out."

I smiled. "Thanks dad."

I reached out to the bag and grabbed the first thing I could find. It was some sort of box with a label on saying, `from dad`. I pulled it out and unwrapped it. "A new camera! Thanks!" I gave him a hug and then pulled the bag towards me a little further.

"Well I remember you saying you wanted a newer one when we were looking through the prom photos. I mentioned this to your mom and she asked why I called. Guess women are better at hints."

I nodded and pulled the next, and last present out. It was a lot smaller but quite heavy. I unwrapped it and saw another wrapped object inside. Behind it was a photo frame. I smiled. There was a note in the frame which I pulled out and read:

`Because you're only young once`

"It's from your mom." Charlie said. I had guessed this much but thanked him regardless.

I looked at the next present to unwrap, and slowly pulled the wrapping off. Another box, but it looked like it had jewellery in it. I opened the lid and saw a pair of silver earrings with diamonds in. I pulled them out carefully and examined them in detail. They were beautiful! I immediately turned around and put them in my ears and showed Charlie. Being a man he nodded and said lovely, but I'm sure my friends at school would appreciate them more.

"Thank you so much dad!" I said again and gave him another hug.

"No problem Bella. Like your mom said, you're only young once." He smiled and walked towards the door. "I'll let you get dressed."

He closed the door behind him and I looked at the clock. I had only half an hour until school so I got myself dressed and washed pretty quickly, then ran downstairs for some toast.

"Don't you want a proper breakfast on your birthday?" Charlie asked.

"We can go to that diner you like for lunch or tea one day."

He agreed that was a good idea. I ate my toast then got in my truck for school.

I put the radio on and listened to the most up-to-date music that was around. It wasn't too bad but wasn't really to my taste. I listened to it anyhow. I was in the best mood today that I'd been in in a while. Fifteen minutes later I pulled into the school parking lot near where Jessica, Angela and Mike were standing. They were next to Tyler's truck, but he wasn't there so he must already be in school. I got out of my truck and walked over to them. They greeted me with a good morning and told me about what they'd been doing over the past few months that we'd been off school.

Mike had gone on vacation to Florida and Jessica and Angela had stayed in Forks all holiday. Mike was telling us all about Florida and how different it was to Forks. He said that he was going to move there as soon as school was over as it was hot all year round. As opposed to this dump he had added. I hadn't told my friends about my birthday. I'm not someone who is overly fussed about birthdays; I don't personally see the excitement in them. I heard a roar of an engine and turned around, as everyone else in the parking lot did. It was Alice.

She pulled round the corner and into a parking space in what looked like a brand new Porsche. It was the same canary yellow colour but looked like a newer model. The engine died and a car door slammed. Out walked Alice. She strode across the parking lot looking like a model out of a magazine. I couldn't help but smile. As soon as she reached me she grabbed me and hugged me so tightly I was unsure whether I could breathe or not.

"Happy birthday!" She squealed.

"Birthday? You didn't tell us it was your birthday today Bella!" Said Jessica excitedly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Angela added. "We could have bought you something!"

"Oh it's fine I'm not really a fan of birthdays." I said, trying to convince them not to get me anything.

"We'll go shopping over the weekend Bella!"

"Yeah that'd be great! We could go to that big mall in the city!"

Angela and Jessica continued to talk between themselves about a shopping trip, probably using my birthday as an excuse. I looked back at Alice and gave her the best evil look I could muster. She smirked at me and hugged me from behind.

"Shouldn't we be getting to class?" Mike said, sounding bored.

Angela and Jessica stopped talking and looked at Mike with blank faces.

"God you're such a looser Mike. We didn't want to invite you to our shopping trip anyway; you go if you're bored." Jessica snapped.

He shrugged his shoulders and left. Angela looked at me with a wry smile. "He'll be fine."

I nodded and Alice pulled me away. "Well I'll catch you guys later."

"Sure!" Jessica said.

They both half waved as I walked into the school with Alice.


	2. Chapter 2

My first two lessons were reasonably okay. I had them both with Maria, so sitting next to her proved very useful in History. Jessica and Angela still seemed to be planning their shopping trip, and would no doubt fill me in another day. Third lesson was English. I was with Maria in this class as well, so we walked together to lesson. Half way there we were greeted by Alice jumping over the stairs in a vaulting manoeuvre. She landed right in front of me and looked at me with her sparkling golden eyes. I fell in love all over again.

"Your present!" She said in a singy-songy voice.

"Alice."

"Come on, you can't expect me to not get you anything!"

I looked at her and smirked a little.

"Oh and I've already seen you open it, you love it."

I laughed at Alice's prediction, which was probably going to be right.

"Thanks Alice, is it alright if I open it tonight?"

"Yes, that's what's planned."

"What do you mean?" I looked at Alice quizzically, then at Maria, then back at Alice.

I noticed that Maria was smiling at Alice. She had something planned, and I had a feeling I wasn't going to like it.

"You're coming to our house tonight for a party! I've planned it all out and I'm leaving early to get the rest of the house sorted out!"

She grabbed my hands and squeezed them, smiling gloriously at me.

"Alice..." I started.

"Come on Bella. Please?"

She gave me a look I couldn't resist and I had to say yes.

"Fine." I said, giving Alice my best smile.

"Yay!" She squealed.

She pulled me into a hug and I rested my head on her left shoulder.

"Come on Bella you have English to go to, remember?" Maria said lazily.

I sighed and pulled back, kissing Alice for a brief moment before leaving her for English.

The rest of the day went pretty quick considering, and I was starting to look forward to the party Alice had planned for me. Maria filled me in on what time Alice would be picking me up, and the rest I sorted out myself. Alice had bought me a gorgeous dress, which matched my earrings. A coincidence I think not. Charlie told me to enjoy myself, which I was sure I would.

Alice picked me up at exactly six pm. She drove me straight to her house and Esme welcomed me in. She took me upstairs whilst Alice finished off decorating downstairs. I was quite surprised that she hadn't finished, but Esme told me she wanted it perfect which is why it's taking her so long; she had re-done many things. I went into Alice's room and waited patiently with Esme. It was nice to get some time alone with her as I hadn't really spoken to her before. She asked a lot of questions about me, but alike the rest of her family, didn't tell me much about herself. I had a look through Alice's music collection and it looked like she had bought quite a number of new CD's since the last time I had been here. I noted a few artists in my head that I would want to borrow from Alice. A few minutes later and it was ready. Alice was waiting for me at the top of the stairs in a beautiful purple dress. She walked me down the stairs and her family welcomed me at the bottom.

Candles were running on the window sills and artificial candles were scattered around the room. Cream cloths had been placed over every surface and the tables had gold material around the edges of the table cloths. It looked lovely. I couldn't help but beam down at everyone as I walked down; it was a great feeling. We reached the bottom and Esme gave me a hug.

"Happy Birthday Bella." She said with a smile, and handed me a thin package that was quite long.

I held it with one hand and unwrapped with the other, but before I could finish un-wrapping it Emmett interrupted. I seemed to be the only one to notice him appear suddenly at the side of me. He grinned down at me.

"Happy birthday!" And handed me a large box.

Alice grabbed the present from Esme and Carlisle off me and Emmett gave me his present. It was strangely light and I had an urge to shake it, so I did so. I couldn't hear anything inside so I gave Emmett a quizzical look, to which he responded with;

"It's already installed in your truck. A new sound system for that piece of crap!" He laughed gently.

"Hey don't say that about my truck." I laughed too.

I was the only person who truly liked my truck. I personally didn't see anything wrong with it. I put the box down that Emmett gave me; I would un-wrap it later. Whatever would be written on the side of the box would mean nothing to me anyway so I'd save the confusion to when I'm alone and not surrounded by vampires. As I turned around to thank Emmett, Rosalie handed me a gift. It wasn't wrapped like the others but it was nice just the same. I opened the box and inside was a necklace. It was lovely. Alice got it out of the box and put it on me. I thanked Emmett and Rosalie at the same time. Alice handed me back the present from Esme and Carlisle and I continued to unwrap it. It was an envelope, a gift card I presumed. I opened the envelope, and inside were two airline tickets. I was amazed, these tickets must have cost a load of money!

"Wow, thank you so much!" I said and gave Esme a hug, and thanked Carlisle.

It was so nice of them, and I couldn't believe how much money they all would have spent on me. I would never be able to thank them. Maria skipped over to me and handed me a small package, then she skipped back to Jaspers side. I opened it and inside were three CD's, albums that I had mentioned to Alice that I was going to get soon. I thanked her and Jasper, and put them on the table where Alice had put my tickets. I decided that I'd open Emmett's present as well; I could blag my way through the instructions. I picked it up and took the paper off. The instructions were inside, so I opened the box. The cardboard was quite thick, and upon opening the box, sliced my finger on the cardboard. I looked at it as blood oozed out and ran down my finger. I started to feel dizzy, I hated blood. I looked at Alice who was staring down at my finger.

Suddenly, she turned towards Jasper. He was baring his teeth at me and being held back by Emmett, desperately trying to reach me. Maria jumped in front of him and was talking to him. She was speaking too quietly for me to hear her, but by the sounds of it, she was trying to convince him not to kill me. I was, for the first time in my life, truly scared for my life in front of Alice's family. I had always felt so safe with them, but I didn't. Alice had looked back at me and the only family member not licking their lips was Carlisle. I could even see Esme fighting to stop herself. Carlisle ran over to me and wiped the blood off my finger with a towel he had somehow got hold of. He nodded towards his family, and they all left. I sighed. Trust me to ruin my own birthday party. Alice had held back and wanted to stay with me, but Carlisle told her to leave, so she did.

He took me up to his office and dipped my finger in a bowl of water. It must have had something else in it as well because it stung like hell.

"How come human blood doesn't affect you anymore?"

Carlisle sighed. "I have never drunk human blood, so I have nothing to miss."

I nodded. Because I could totally relate to him... not.

"It takes years and years to stop yourself from wanting to kill humans. It's taken me well over a century myself."

He took my finger out of the bowl and dabbed it with a cloth, and put some bandage round it to stop the bleeding.

"Don't worry about it Bella. Like I've said to you it's hard for Jasper. He'll be feeling bad for a while."

"I don't want him to though; it wasn't his fault."

"He can't help it. If it was you in that situation, you'd feel just as bad as he does."

I had to agree with him there. Carlisle lit a match and held it to the top of the water which strangely set fire. I gasped a little out of surprise. I watched the flames dance on the water's surface and the stench of blood hit me. I looked away and up at Carlisle.

"Alice is waiting for you downstairs. I think it best if you went home tonight."

I nodded and left his office. I walked down the stairs and was met by Alice. She pulled me into a hug and apologized for what happened.

"It's not your fault!"

"I should have seen it coming." She muttered to herself.

"Alice!"

She looked up at me, a worried look on her face.

"Don't worry about it, just get me home please."

And she did just that.


	3. Chapter 3

The other night with Jasper had scared me. I never thought that he would ever try to kill me. I hadn't seen any of Alice's family since the incident and I was starting to worry that they had secretly moved away. School was strange without them, although it did give me more time to spend with my other friends. It had been a whole week without Alice at school and I was definitely missing her. I had spoken to her on the phone but she had always avoided the conversation topic of where she was. I was happy to see that, after driving home from a bad day at school, Alice was stood by my house waiting for me to come home. I got out of the car and smiled to myself. She was beautiful. How could I have even lived one day without seeing her face? I walked up to her and hugged her.

"Walk with me." She said, and held my hand as she pulled me into the forest.

I followed a little behind her, making sure I had a firm grip on her hand. We walked in silence for about five minutes. I knew that she had something planned so I just let her carry on. She eventually stopped and faced me.

"Bella." She whispered.

I looked her in the eye, her golden eyes glowing in the light.

"It's hard for me to do this."

Oh no. Not the break up talk.

"You know how much I love you."

I nodded. "And you know how much I love you." I said.

She sighed. "What happened with Jasper the other day..."

"Was nothing!" I interrupted. She looked at me blankly. "It was nothing Alice."

"You're right, it was nothing. But it's nothing compared to what it could have been."

I took a second to process this. She was right. It really could have been so much worse.

"That's what I'm scared of Bella."

She gripped my hands a little harder and closed her eyes.

"Just the thought of losing you is unbearable." She sighed again. "Which is why I'm not going to leave you." She opened her eyes and looked at me.

A sigh of relief left my mouth and I breathed out breath I didn't know I was holding in.

"It would be very stupid of me to do that to you. I know it would break your heart and mine. And not only break your heart, but leave you vulnerable to other vampires in this world."

A huge smile broke out over my lips; I was so sure that she was leaving me.

"So are you going to tell me why you haven't been in school recently?"

"That's why I brought you all the way out here." She said, "For some peace and quiet. I can hear no human or vampire here. Apart from you of course."

I smiled at her and sat on a nearby tree trunk which had fallen over. She sat down next to me.

"We haven't been in school because we've been busy. Arranging."

"Arranging what?"

"Family issues. Jasper decided that he still needs to work on his, attachment, to human blood. He and Maria are moving away."

"What?"

Moving away? They can't move away just because of me. Oh no this couldn't happen; I didn't want it to happen. This was all because of me.

"It's not your fault Bella. Before you blame yourself, it is in no way your fault. Jasper has been thinking about it for a while."

It was too late to try to convince me this wasn't my fault.

"Where are they moving to? It's not too far away is it?"

Alice shook her head. "No. Not too far away for us, but a couple of hours drive for you."

"When are they going?" I asked.

Alice looked at the floor. "They've already left."

"What?" I was starting to get slightly angry. "And none of you thought to tell me?"

"Bella we didn't want you knowing because we knew you'd try to stop them."

"Well of course I would! And if they really wanted to go I would have let them obviously... But I didn't even get to say goodbye." The last part was mainly to me.

I was really going to miss Maria. I had gotten so close to her over the past few months, she was like a sister to me now. I still felt bad for what happened to Jasper. If I was him I probably would have done the same thing; if I was a vampire that is. The thought hadn't really ever seriously crossed my mind, but now it did. Would I want to be a vampire? Alice interrupted my thoughts by suggesting we go back to my house as Charlie would wonder where I was.

"Can you hear people's thoughts as well?" I asked her, not really sure if I wanted to know the answer or not.

She shook her head. "Unfortunately not. Although it is something I'd love to be able to do." She said happily.

I laughed.

"Why did you ask anyway? Thinking about something you shouldn't?" She winked at me.

"No of course not, just a thought that popped into my mind."

She smiled and held my hand all the way back to my house. I let her lead me as I had no idea which direction we were going in anyway.

"How do you know where you're going?"

Alice shrugged. "I just know. It's a vampire thing." She said with a grin.

When we arrived back at my house I invited her in for a while as Charlie was still out. I looked at the phone as I went in and saw a message on the answer phone. I listened to it in its entirety then put the phone back down. It was Charlie saying he wasn't going to be home until past eleven.

"It gives us more time." I said to Alice, snuggling up to her on the sofa.

She "Hmm'd" in agreement.

I looked over at her and she met my gaze.

"It gives us more time." I whispered in her ear.

She laughed at the realisation of what I meant.

"No." She shook her head. "Not here anyway."

"Why not?" I asked, getting ready for any excuse she was about to throw at me.

"What would Charlie say if he got home and found your bed in pieces?"

"True." I said and lay my head back down on her.

After the mess she made of her own bed by breaking it I wasn't really about to let her do that to mine as well. I laughed at the memory of waking up to what looked like a bomb site with Alice lay in the middle. An angel lay in a war zone. I sighed. My stomach rumbled.

"I need food." I said and got up off the sofa.

"Wow, record timing Bella, you've never moved so fast!" She joked.

I pulled a face at her and made some tea for myself. It still felt strange not offering Alice anything, and I was tempted to even though I knew what the answer would be.

She stayed with me until Charlie got home. He didn't mind Alice being here, he said she was allowed round anytime that she wanted. I was pleased that he liked her; it was one less barrier to deal with. This reminded me that I needed to see Jake.


	4. Chapter 4

It was nice seeing Jake again. As long as Alice or her family weren't mentioned he seemed happy. We had a good catch up and spoke a lot about what we had been doing over the last few weeks. He showed me a car that he was working on, and old VW Rabbit. It seemed to be coming along pretty well, but as far as nice cars go, it wasn't my style. Jake was pleased with it though so that's all that mattered.

Alice had been back and to from Forks to wherever Maria and Jasper were. She never told me where they were; I guessed because she didn't want me driving there myself. She would spend about a week there and always seem very distracted when she came back. I had asked her plenty of times if everything was okay, to which she answered yes. I didn't believe her. All the time that she was in Forks she spent with me. I hadn't seen any of her other family for weeks and my worst nightmares were confirmed when I realised they had all been taken off the register at school. I was upset and angry with Alice, why didn't she tell me this? She must have known that I would of course find out, but maybe there were more important issues than this at the moment. I wondered if Maria and Jasper had gotten into any sort of trouble but Alice would give me no real indication as to which answer was the correct one. The last time I had seen Alice I was pretty angry with her to say the least, so I had stormed off to Jake's.

I didn't mention any of this to Jake, but he could tell that something was up with me. I tried to forget about what was happening with Alice when I was with Jake, but it was always playing at the back of my mind. A couple of Jake's friends had shown up every so often that I was there, and it was nice to see some of Jake's other friends, although they were all guys and convinced I was his girlfriend. It made us laugh a lot, but gave Jake a reason to wrestle with them which he was very good at. I always bet on Jake winning, and I almost always won. Jake was certainly strong for his age, and tall. He reminded me of a human Emmett. Trying to picture Emmett as a human was very hard. He had a very `vampire` look about him, and I imagined he still looked quite threatening even as a human. Jake on the other hand was not so threatening to look at. He had a very young face and a childish grin to go with it. The fact that he had his hair long also made him look younger and I constantly tried to convince him to cut it all off; something which he said he would never do. His friends also had quite long hair, so I guessed that it was something to do with his background.

Charlie was pleased that I was spending more time with Jake. It was something he had tried to get me to do for a long time, but explaining to him about the incompatibility between Jake and Alice was something he could never know, so I just said that we had grown apart in the years and were now getting better.

Alice didn't mind that I was spending time with Jake. She was glad that he was there for me when she wasn't, but I told her that I don't need to be babysat twenty-four seven. Since leaving and coming back she had gotten a lot more protective over me. It was nice at first but I did also want her to back off a little. I still loved her so much, and this wouldn't change anything, but her going away so often was getting slightly annoying. It was only annoying because she wasn't telling me anything. I told her this but she still wouldn't tell me what was going on. She just wanted to spend time with me and not talk about Jasper and Maria whilst she was with me.

She usually came to visit me on sunny days, or when Charlie wasn't in so that it would give us more privacy. A couple of rainy days she came round and drove me into the city, shopping and all sorts whilst she could. Apart from me, the shopping was the thing she missed the most about not having somewhere definite to live. I asked her why she doesn't live in the house they used to live in but she just shrugged her shoulders and told me it was easier to stay where Jasper and Maria were. No reasons were given and she changed the subject quickly, but it didn't change her moods at all. She was still the bubbly, bright happy vampire I had fallen in love with. She seemed to be looking into the future a lot more these days, something which I noticed straight away. She always told me it was me she was looking out for, but I don't think it was me she saw.

After our long shopping trip in the city she went away, but this time she was away for at least two weeks. I let her go. It did, after all, give me more time to spend with my other friends. I really enjoyed their company and was definitely getting closer to them. I had spent a lot of time with Jessica and Angela. There had been new films released in the cinema every week so we went to see one a week. This was great fun and something I would keep doing even when Alice got back.

The time I had spent with Jake, however, was the time I had enjoyed the most. He was great company and I looked forward to seeing him every other day. The opposite was happening with Jake though; he seemed to be losing friends. His Rabbit had been finished for a few days and although it needed some finishing touches on it he took me for a ride. It seemed strange seeing Jake drive, but he was a very good driver. His heart is in bikes though, and I don't think he'll be doing any more work to any more cars. He drove me to a remote part of Forks, near the beach. He turned the engine off and was watching the people at the edge of the cliff. He told me that they were his old friends and Sam. He thought Sam was the main ringleader for something, but like me, he had no idea what that thing was. Jake said that they had been ditching school, ditching him and spending all their time with Sam. This made Jake worried, because Sam gave him a look, a look to say he would be joining his friends, something which Jake didn't want to do, but he was starting to wonder if he even had a choice. I could tell this really bothered him by the way he spoke about him. I could sympathise with Jake here, I knew exactly how it felt to be left in the dark by the people you love and trust.

The two weeks that Alice had been away had dragged like hell. I was so happy to see her again, and didn't realise how much I had missed her until I saw her. Alice suggested that we stayed at her house for the weekend. She said she could tell that Charlie was starting to get suspicious of us and she didn't want that.

Standing in Alice's room reminded me of the Prom night that we had spent together. It was a happy memory that I didn't want to ever forget, and wanted to replay many more times. Something which happened a lot over the weekend I spent with her.


	5. Chapter 5

I was fully refreshed after my weekend with Alice. Loving her was so easy at times. She had left me yet again, so I planned on seeing Jake, who said he had a surprise for me. I was sat in the kitchen with Charlie, waiting for Jake to pick me up as he said he would. Charlie questioned where Alice was, thinking there was a secret agenda to her leaving, which in reality there was. But of course, the official story was that Carlisle had been offered a job in a big city, with a much bigger pay packet than what he got here in forks. Charlie didn't seem to like the idea, he didn't think Carlisle was all about money, but there was nothing else that I could say to that. I knew the real reason, or part of it anyway, but could never tell charlie. He seemed deep in thought, and I watched him as his brows furrowed darker and darker. I was distracted by the sound of an engine, a deep rumbling. I got up and looked out of the window. Jake.

"It's Jake, I'll see you later Dad."

He "Hmm'd" and left me to it, running out of the door to see my best friend. He grinned his usual childish grin, clearly happy to see me again.

"Hey Bella, you ready for this surprise I have for you?" He sounded very excited at the thought of what he was about to put me through.

I nodded, not really sure about it. I had a stomach churning feeling it was going to include something adrenalin pumping. That was Jake's idea of fun. I got into his car and he sped off, not quite at Alice's speed, but not far off. Next time I would suggest that I was going to drive. We listened to some music on the radio, a little different from mine as jake had a slightly different taste in music to me. He drove to the back of his house and pulled up in the garage. Jake jumped out of the car and ran round to open the door for me. I smiled and got out, looking around for some clue at to what he was going to make me do.

"Now if you'll follow me Miss Swan!" He pointed at the door and walked out, I followed him.

We walked around the back and past the forest next to his house.

"Any word on Sam yet?" I asked.

He looked down, and I wish I hadn't asked.

"I'm sorry Jake, I just…"

"Bella it's fine, I'm just trying to forget it." He forced a smile at me, but I knew it wasn't a real one.

We walked in silence a little longer, before he broke it with a question of his own.

"So where did Alice and the rest of her family go?" He had a genuine quizzical look on his face.

Honestly, I shrugged my shoulders. "Some city. Carlisle got a better job offer from a city hospital, would have been stupid to turn it down really. Guess they all decided it was a good move." I looked at Jake, he was watching me intently, trying to figure out my emotions, which I wasn't very good at giving signals to.

"When did Alice tell you? You didn't really mention it at all until they'd gone."

"No I knew. I just didn't want to think about it. It's hard not having her here all the time. But it's nice when she comes back." I smiled thinking about the weekend I had spent with Alice. I shook my head, not wanting to think about things like that with Jake.

He nodded in agreement. "Bit weird thought that she hasn't told you where she's gone."

I needed to change the conversation and get away from Alice. "So have you got a girl in your sights yet?"

"No not yet. Theres a couple of girls I like but, I don't know."

"You should go for it Jake! Use your lovely grin to get them going!"

He laughed and used that grin on me. He looked up at the sky, then back down. "Just the right weather."

We walked a little further then I saw it. Or them. Two. They were stood in the dirt, and looked scary as hell even from this far away.

"Bikes Jake? Are you serious?" I stopped in my tracks and stared at him, my mouth open.

He laughed a hearty laugh, looked at me and carried on walking towards the dreaded dirt bikes. "Come on Bella!"

I was still dead in my tracks, not wanting to do this one bit, but he pulled me towards them and I guess I had no choice. Ten minutes later and he had got me to at least sit on a bike. One foot was firmly on the floor and the other on some sort of pedal.

"You scared?" He smiled.

"I'm not." I lied.

"Alright. Brake," He pushed one of my hands on the handle bar. "Clutch, and gas."

I nodded. This was an awful lot to take in, and it took me quite a while to get used to all the peddles and handles.

"Ready?" he asked carefully, "Now slowly, release the clutch."

Jake watched me intently, as I jerked forward a number of times.

"You alright?"

"I'm good." I answered, and I took both feet off the floor, flying forward on the bike.

It felt so good, so exhilarating. I could feel a massive smile growing on my face. Suddenly, my grip was beginning to loosen, and I could feel I was losing control.

"Hit the brake!" I heard Jake scream.

"Arhhhh!"

I fell right off the bike and rolled straight into a rock. My body ached everywhere and I lay there, trying to figure out what actually hurt. My conclusion was everything. Seconds later I heard another engine rolling up to me, Jake had come for me. He almost leaped off the bike and came to me.

"Bella your head, you're bleeding!"

I touched my head where it hurt and looked at my hand, blood.

"I'm sorry." It was an immediate reaction.

"You're apologising for bleeding?" Jake looked a little shocked.

I looked at the ground, it was a stupid thing to do, but with Alice it was something that had to be done. Jake took his shirt off and put it to my head. Great, now i've not only ruined his day, but one of his favourite shirts. I looked at his body, and felt something I knew I shouldn't.

"You're sort of beautiful."

Jake smiled. "How hard did you hit your head?" He asked.

I wasn't sure. But I knew I was feeling something I shouldn't, and I was sure it was nothing to do with me hitting my head.


	6. Chapter 6

Alice was still not back. Maybe she had been watching me and had seen the state I had gotten myself into. Whatever it was, she hadn't come back this week, which left me to see "Face Punch". The film looked as bad as the title, but I was well outnumbered. I had suggested that Jake came along, and no-one had objected, so I invited him along too. He owed me after what he did to me. He felt a little bad that I got beat up by riding the bike, but going to see this film was punishment enough with him. I turned up at the cinema early as always. Mike turned up minutes later, followed by Jake.

"So, is this it?" Mike asked, looking rather pale at the sight of Jake.

I nodded. "Angela and Jess both have the stomach flu, so they can't come, and Eric is looking after Angela."

Mike nodded and took a sharp look at Jake. "Are you even old enough to see this movie?" It seemed rather snarly, but Jake always has his comebacks, or so I thought.

"You into action movies then?" He grinned.

"Not really." Mike was getting paler and paler by the second.

"I'm gonna get the tickets." I left the boys to talk between themselves, and indicated when I had the tickets.

We made our way into the cinema, and sight right at the front. I noticed that Mike was starting to get fidgety, and moments later ran out. Great, seems like he has this stomach bug too. Me and Jake both got up and followed him out.

"What a marshmallow!" Jake laughed, and I laughed too. "You should hold out for someone with a stronger stomach."

Alice. The thought put me down a little bit. I was really missing her. We walked a bit further and I moved to sit on the stairs. Jake helped me round the corner and held my hand, to which I pulled away.

"Can I not hold your hand?" He asked.

I took a deep breath. "I just think it means something different to you. And besides, I'm with Alice."

"Tell me something, you like me right?"

I nodded.

"And you think I'm, sort of beautiful." He grinned at me.

I had that feeling within me yet again. "Jake, please don't do this."

"Why?" He asked a little angrily.

I didn't have a reasonable answer.

"Look, Bella, I would never, ever leave you like Alice has. I would never hurt you. I promise. You can count on me."

He was looking me deep in the eye, and I was looking him deep in the eye. We had a connection, i could feel it. I moved my head and rested it on his shoulder. It felt nice. He was warm, very warm in fact. It was a nice change to Alice's cold shoulder. What am I saying?

"Urrrghhhh. I need to go home." Mike stumbled over to where we were sat and I moved away from Jake straight away.

Jake looked at him, very unimpressed with his state.

"I was feeling sick before the movie." He must have felt that he needed to explain himself. Jake continued to look at him. "What's your problem?"

Jake stood up. "Right now, YOU'RE my problem!"

"Woah Jake stop!" I pulled him by the hand away from Mike. He was burning up. "Jake you feel like you have a fever! Maybe you're coming down with something?"

He looked at me and then stormed out.

"That dude is weird." Mike said.

I didn't say anything but walked out also. Mike followed me. "I'll give my dad a call, he'll pick us up and take us both home. You alright now?"

Mike did look a little better than he had done before. He just nodded, which maybe showed otherwise.

I called Charlie and five minutes later he was there to take us home. We opened all the windows on the way home to make Mike feel better. We dropped him off then headed home ourselves.

"Have a good night?" Charlie asked. "Besides Mike being ill?"

"Yeah. Shame though, didn't really get much chance to watch the movie."

Charlie shrugged. "Adverts look rubbish anyway." He looked at me and smiled.

We pulled up outside the house and I saw a canary yellow car parked up. Alice. I looked at charlie and he looked at me. He gave me a silent signal that it was okay to go with Alice. I jumped out of the car and ran up to the drivers side. Alice stepped out in all her glory, and hugged me. She pulled away after a few seconds and walked over to Charlie. She was talking to him about something, it was just out of my earshot. She came bounding back a few minutes later and opened the passenger door for me.

"Get in!" She said, and I obeyed.


	7. Chapter 7

The drive to Alice's house was, short as always. She kept me entertained on the way, telling me about all the shopping she'd been doing over the past few weeks. She said she had bought a whole new wardrobe of clothes, and would show me if we had time. We arrived at the house and she pulled into the empty garage. She made quick work of getting out of the car and opening my door. I laughed. Its easy to forget just how quick vampires can move. It was almost pitch black in the garage, so I let Alice lead me into the house, which she did fairly swiftly. Once in the house she turned all the lights on so I could see her fully. She was beautiful. How I had even seen Jake as beautiful was beyond me. As long as Alice was around, he had no chance at all. But if Alice wasn't around, did he have a chance then? I tried to shake the thought out of my mind.

"So did you have a good time with Jake?" She asked.

I nodded. "It was good. Did you watch me over the past weeks?" I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Of course, although Jake has been kinda blurry lately." She genuinely looked confused. "I saw you fall off your bike. What were you thinking?" She walked up to me and examined my head, just to doubly check it was all healed up.

"It was fun… Sort of."

She laughed. "It looked a little painful!"

I grimaced at the memory of blood dripping out of my skull. She pulled my chin up to look at her. She kissed me lightly on the lips and I was in heaven. It dawned on me just how much I had missed my Alice. She took my hands and walked me to the sofa, softly placing me down. I knew what was about to happen, and I ached for it, so much so that I couldn't control myself any longer. This time it was me leading Alice. Something I thought would never happen.

The next morning I awoke in Alice's bed. I opened my eyes slowly and surveyed the room. No broken beds this time. I wondered what sort of state the sofa was in after last night. I smiled to myself. I heard movement to my right but was too tired to move any more. It was obviously Alice, who then planted a kiss on my cheek and held me close. I could feel her cold naked skin on mine, such a nice feeling.

"Good morning!" She said in a chirpy voice, one that wasn't meant to be used before 12noon.

I groaned at her to show my appreciation of her chirpyness.

She laughed gently and nuzzled her head into my neck and took a deep breath, then exhaled.

I turned around to look at her and she was lay there, naked, smiling at me. The things I could do to her right now.

"You need some breakfast, does a full English sound good?"

I nodded, "Sounds amazing."

"I'll go make it, I'll give you a shout when it's done. I have some fresh clothes in my wardrobe, help yourself." She winked at me and in the same second was gone.

I rolled over and smelled the sheets where she had been lay. They smelt of Alice. Dragging myself over to her wardrobe, I did the same thing to her clothes. Even though they were what looked like newly washed they still smelt of Alice. I picked some that looked like they had been specially arranged for me, and looked at myself in the mirror. A questionable look came over my face. I could never look as good as Alice does in these clothes. I trundled into her en-suite, and found some toiletries had been placed there ready for me to use.

Twenty minutes later I strolled down the stairs and was greeted by a full English breakfast, complete with fresh fruit juice. My stomach grumbled loudly and it hit me that I hadn't eaten for quite a while. I tucked into my breakfast and finished it pretty quickly. Alice watched me eat every mouthful. It was a little off-putting, but I was really too hungry to care. Alice whisked the plates and glasses away once I had finished with them and pulled me over to a sofa. I noted it wasn't the one we, "Used" last night. She looked me deep in the eye, I could tell she had something to say to me.

"What is it?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Can I ask you something about Jake?"

I nodded.

"Do you like Jake?"

I looked at Alice. "He's my best friend."

"I know but, do you really like him?" She had a slight smile on her face, what was she up to?

I sighed. Honestly, I didn't know.

"It's okay." Alice stroked my face. "You're only human."

I smiled at her. "Alice I want you. Only you."

She shrugged. "If you are confused though just, let me know okay. I want what's best for you. I am in love with you, and would rather have you happy than not."

"Okay." I nodded at her, and hugged her. "Why would you let me though?"

"Because I love you so much. Bella I'm away from you a lot of the time, and I'm going to be gone for a couple of months now, so I guess it's my way of saying make your mind up in your own time."

"A couple of months? Alice why?" I was shocked. A couple of months? Seriously?

"Look it will go quickly, I promise."

I looked away from Alice. Why did she have to leave me again?

"Hey." She pulled my chin up to look at her. "I'll be back for you I promise Bella, I promise. I will come straight back if I even see you, thinking about doing something dangerous. Bella dangerous anyway." She smiled.

I couldn't help but smile back at her. Her face glowed, her golden eyes boring into me. I loved it. I loved everything about Alice. She was perfect. I could sit like this with Alice all day, but Alice obviously had plans.

"I've gotta go Bella, I'll take you home then I'll be off for a few months. I promise I'll stay in contact daily. E-mail me with everything you do and I'll reply as soon as I can."

I breathed deeply. The thought of having to live without Alice for any longer made every bone in my body ache. I knew eventually I would be able to spend every single day with Alice, I just didn't know when that day would be. Alice moved super quick and appeared with a brand new Apple Mac for me. I looked down at the shiny object on my lap. For me? "Alice?"

"It's got everything on there you'll need, and I've got some faster internet set up for you at home. Consider it a leaving present." She hugged me and I stood up.

"Thank you Alice."

She smiled at me, took me by the hand and led me to her car. She drove me home. Within minutes we were back at my house, Charlie's car sat on the drive. I got out of the car and walked up to the house, said my goodbye's to Alice and walked in the house. Charlie was watching the football on the tv, so I said hi and went up to my room. I ran to my window and looked out, Alice was gone. My heart sank a little and I placed the laptop onto my bed and switched it on. I needed to call Jake, see if he's okay after last night.


	8. Chapter 8

I left many messages for Jake. He never picked up his phone, and whenever someone did answer the phone it was Billy. If felt like everyone had left me all at once. I had E-Mailed Alice daily, but no reply as of yet.

"Hey Jake it's Bella, please call back. Ok bye." I put the phone down and sat down in the kitchen.

Charlie was getting his stuff ready to go fishing with a few of his friends. He could see how upset I was, as much as I tried to hide it. He sighed.

"Look Bella, I don't have to go today."

"Yes you do dad. Go, have a good time I'll be fine. Just have fun and be careful."

"Always am." He replied. I watched him pack his stuff into the car and leave. He waved at me on his way out.

Seeing as Charlie was gone, it gave me a good opportunity to go and actually see Jake. I needed to, as he was just ignoring me, or that's how it looked at least. I jumped in my van and drove down to Jake's house. As I arrived, I saw Jake walking back into the house. I slammed the car to a halt and ran out to him. It was raining so hard, seconds in it and I was soaked to the skin.

"JAKE!" I yelled. "HEY!" I walked closer to him and he turned round to face me. "You cut your hair off?" I found myself shouting as the rain was so loud around us. "And, you got a tattoo?"

Jake looked at the floor, obviously not able to explain his actions to me. "Bella…"

"I thought you were too sick to come outside, or pick up the phone when I called!"

"Bella, just go away."

"What happened to your?" He started to walk away from me. I was having none of it. "Hey! What happened?! Is Sam getting to you?"

He laughed mockery at me. "Sam's trying to help me, don't blame him." He paused and licked his lips, "But if you WANT somebody to blame, why don't you try those FILTHY BLOODSUCKERS you love so much?! The Cullen's."

I was stunned. How could they be blamed for what was happening to him, whatever it was. They weren't even here any more. The thought of Alice came back into my mind. It pained me to think of her.

"Hey!" A shout came from behind Jake. Sam. They were gesturing for him to go back to them.

Jake turned and looked at them, then looked back at me. "Bella we can't be friends any more."

"Look Jake, I know that, I've hurt you but…"

"Bella. I'm not good for you."

"Jake you're my best friend, you said you've never leave."

"I'm not."

I could see how much this was hurting him. I knew he didn't really want this. This was all Sam's doing, I knew it.

"Go home, and don't come back Bella. It's the best way." He turned away from me and started walking towards his friends.

No. I could not lose Jake like this. But really, I had no choice. He left me. I was left standing in the rain. It hid my tears. I wanted him. I wanted Alice.

"Alice, things are bad. Without Jake, it's hard. But without you it's harder. I miss you. So much. I will find somewhere that I have good memories of us together, hopefully that will make me feel better."

My E-Mail of the day was done, and I was ready to go out. Find that place that reminded me of Alice. The woods. The place where we spent most of the summer, laying in the grass, Alice sparkling next to me, looking as beautiful as she always does.

I stood in the middle of the field and looked around. The flowers had gone, it was all brown and deserted. I felt even more empty than I had done before. My heart was aching. I stood there, feeling my pain, when I felt like someone was watching me. I looked up from the floor, and stood there was Laurent. His dark skin was glowing in the sunlight. The rare sunlight here in Forks. He moved ever so closer to me, stalking me.

"Bella." He greeted me. I didn't want to be greeted. "I went to the Cullen's but it was empty. They left. I can't believe they left you behind though, weren't you some sort of, pet?"

His presence was overwhelming and his blood red eyes were watching me intently. I was scared. Laurent was on our side, or so I thought. Why was he here? What did he want with the Cullen's?

"Do the Cullen's visit often?"

I looked him in the face. I knew that I had to lie. I had to say what Alice would tell me to say, so that she could keep me as safe as possible. "Yeah all the time. I'll tell them that you stopped by. I probably shouldn't tell Alice, she's sometimes a little protective."

"But she's not here."

What was Laurent playing at?

"Why are you here?" I asked him.

He smiled longingly at me. "I came as a favour to Victoria."

Victoria. The name dug a hole right through my very core. I had no idea he was still with Victoria, he helped us when James came after me. I shivered at the thought of the two most vicious, horrible Vampires I had ever met.

"She asked me to see if you were still under protection of the Cullen's, she feels its only fair to kill Alice's mate, as Alice killed hers. An eye for an eye."

My heart was almost stopping. Kill me? He's here to… kill me?! I had to threaten him. Alice would come back for me!

"Alice will know, she'll come after you!" Why hadn't she come already?! How could she not see this?

"She left you here unprotected, I really don't think she will. Victoria wont be happy about me killing you, but I cant help myself."

I panicked, my heart jumping into my mouth. He rushed up to me.

"Don't be afraid." He whispered gently. "I am doing you a kindness. Victoria has, many things planned for you. Horrible things." He stepped away a little and looked right into my eyes.

I closed my eyes so I didn't have to see his stare. Thoughts of Alice were flooding my mind, when I heard a small snap behind me. I opened my eyes. Laurent looked and saw something he didn't want to see. I looked around too, and saw big, black eyes. The bears. But they weren't bears they were wolves! Laurent ran for his life, and I watched as the wolves followed him. It was enough for me… I ran back to the house as fast as I could.


	9. Chapter 9

"Bella what the hell were you doing in the woods?!" Charlie sounded awfully worried. But I was back home safe and sound. He seemed to miss the GIANT WOLVES part of the conversation.

I told Charlie everything that happened, but he seemed very sceptical. I was at him and at him and eventually he got the message. He called Billy and they all agreed to go hunting. He gave me strict orders to stay in the house, which I did. I questioned him when he got home and he went hunting with Billy and his friends, after checking in at the police station of course.

I went to bed early that night, and suffered from Victoria-based nightmares. I looked over at my phone to check the time, and Jake had left me a message.

"Remember what I told you last year Bella, please remember. I told you the story about us, and the cold ones."

I had no idea what he was on about. I needed to see him, so I made it my mission for tomorrow.

I arrived at Jake's house in record time. I had never driven so fast in my life. My mind was reeling from last night. I had racked my brains an unbelievable amount of times but nothing had come to me. I sat in my van for a couple of minutes, trying to work out what I was going to say to him. I knew it wasn't going to come out right, but it was worth a try. I took a deep breath and stepped out of my van. Walking up to the house I heard voices from around the side, but I ignored them; I was only here to see Jake. I knocked aggressively on the front door. Billy came to the door, looking a little grim.

"Bella?"

I looked at him straight. "I need to see him."

"He's not here."

I could tell that he was lying. I was having absolutely non of it. "Billy I'm sorry I really need to see him." I pushed past Billy, and stormed down the rest of the house, walking directly to Jakes room.

I flung the door open and there he was. Sleeping. He looked so beautiful when he was sleeping. I sighed. Waking him up was not an option. I looked out of the window and saw Jake's friends walking around outside. I got angry. Before they got involved with Sam they were fine. I shook my head and turned round, closing Jake's door and walking back outside. I said my goodbye's to Billy, but only quickly. I walked around the house and half ran to where Jake's friends were.

"What did you do?!" I shouted at Sam. He didn't reply. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" I ran up to him and pushed him as hard as I could. "He didn't want this!"

Paul pushed forward infront of Sam. "What did he tell you?" He scowled at me.

"He told me nothing! He doesn't tell me anything because he's scared of you. Scared of what you'll do!" I was so angry at them all.

Paul and the other laughed. He annoyed me so much, I could feel my anger building up. I slapped paul hard across the face.

He growled at me, breathing deeply.

"Bella get back!" Sam exclaimed.

What was going on? He looked really angry, maybe I shouldn't have slapped him. I retreated, feeling scared. I needed Alice right now. Paul was getting really angry. Sam was trying to calm him down, but it wasn't working. He collapsed onto the floor and then rose back up… As a wolf?! The wolves I had seen in the forest… These people, were wolves?! He stood there looking proud of himself, baring his teeth at me. I walked back towards the house then started running. Jake appeared just in time.

"Bella!" He vaulted over the front porch and jumped over me, forming himself into a wolf also.

He grabbed paul by the neck with his teeth and wrestled him to the ground, rolling back into the forest behind the house. I was gobsmacked. Jake? I stood infront of the house, frozen.

"Get Bella back to Emily's house." Sam ordered, and the two remaining boys did just that.

The drive to Emily's house was a noisy one. The boys were talking about Jake's fight with Paul, and seemed a little too excited about it. I was still shocked. Once we had arrived at Emily's house I jumped straight out of the van and walked to the house as fast as I could. The boys still beat me. Embry pulled me to one side.

"Don't say anything about Emily's face. Sam's a little sensitive."

"Why would I say anything?" By the time I had finished he had walked into the house, so I followed him in.

I soon saw what he meant. Emily had a scar on the right side of her face. Goodness knows how it got there, but I daren't ask. There were three deep lines down from her eye to her mouth, it looked like it had been done quite recently.

She looked at me cautiously. "Who's this?" She looked over to the boys.

"This, is Bella Swan!" Embry said with joy.

Emily looked back at me and nodded. "Huh, so you're the Vampire girl?" She smiled.

I smiled back and gave it as good as she did. "So you're the wolf girl?"

She laughed. " I guess I am."

I walked into the house and stood behind the table. Emily placed some muffins on the table and offered me one. I took one and bit into it. It was honestly the best muffin I had ever had.

"So how did you get around Sam's gag order? Trust Jacob eh?!"

"Oh no he didn't say anything. It just kinda… Got out."

"Hey check it out Bella," Quil started to get excited. "We can hear each others thoughts!"

"Will you shut up?! These are trade secrets! Damn it Quil. This chick runs with Vampires!" Embry had a slight laugh in his voice.

I chuckled to myself. "Well you can't really run with Vampire's, they're fast!"

Emily laughed.

"Yeah?" Embry put down his food. "Well guess what Bella? We're faster!"

I was a little miffed. Alice would show these guys right. I heard voices from outside and saw Sam walking towards the house. He greeted us all then walked up to Emily, hugging her and smothering her with kisses. It made me miss Alice so much. I wanted her here. Did she know about these wolves? It made me wonder. A few minutes later and Jake and Paul walked through the door. Jake stood in the doorway, looking at me. We needed a serious chat.


	10. Chapter 10

Jake and I walked outside and down to the beach. We walked in silence. I was getting a conversation ready in my head, although like the last one I planned, I knew it wouldn't go right.

Jake moved next to me and I broke the silence. "So you're a werewolf?!"

Jake sighed. "Yeah, last time I checked."

It was as if he hated the thought of it.

"Few people in our tribe have the Gene. When bloodsuckers move nearby, the fever sets in for those who do have the gene. Theres nothing that can be done."

Jake looked at me with a half smile. I could see the pain in his dark eyes.

"Can't you find a way to just… Stop it? It's kinda wrong."

Jake stopped in his tracks. I shouldn't have said that.

"Wrong? God Bella you're such a hypocrite! Just because I'm not the right type of monster for you!"

The right type of monster? It was nothing to do with him being a werewolf. He had it all wrong.

"Jake it's not what you are, it's what you do! You've killed people Jake."

He seemed offended. "Bella we're not killing anyone!"

I took a deep breath, asking a question that I half knew the answer to. "Then who is?"

He looked me deep in the eye. "The things that we're trying to protect you people from. The only thing that we do kill." Jake paused. "Vampires." He spat the word out as if it were poison.

Alice. "Jake you can't! I…"

"Don't worry." He cut in. "We can't touch you're precious little Cullen's. Unless they break the treaty."

I started to remember the treaty, the information slowly leaking into my system.

"You can't kill Vampires, they'll kill you!"

He scoffed. "Well we took out that leach with the dreads easy enough didn't we?"

Laurent. They killed him?

"You mean Laurent?!"

"Yup, and his red headed girlfriend is next."

"Victoria." The word struck pure fear into my heart, freezing me on the spot. "Vic-Victoria's here?" I just about managed to get the words out. My breathing suddenly got a lot quicker and my pulse was racing.

"She was. We chased her all the way to the Canadian border the other day. The problem is she keeps coming back, and we don't know what she's after."

I knew exactly what, or who she's after. Maybe it was time I let Jake in to a bit of the Cullen's lifestyle. After all, he has no idea what happened last year with James and Victoria.

"I do." I paused, and calmed my breathing down. Me." It was me she was after.

Jake was horrified. I told him the full story and afterwards he took me home in my van. He was very distracted but seemed to be concentrating enough to be able to drive.

Ten minutes later we arrived at my house. Charlie was out again. Must have been called into work late.

"Don't worry about Victoria, we have this place covered." He put his arm round my shoulder. I could feel the warmth through my jumper.

"Just be careful Jake, she's fast. You have no idea just how fast she is." I looked him in the eye and shrugged his arm off me.

He laughed. "Your lack of confidence in us is a little insulting Bella." He looked at me and smirked. "Right, well I better go. Got a Vampire to kill."

I couldn't believe how easy Jake thought it was going to be. How many Vampires had he dealt with before? He didn't know half of Victoria's power. Not every Vampire is as easy to kill as Laurent was. I watched him run off into the blackness, back to wherever he was about to go. Hunt for a vampire? I wished him all the luck in the world. I walked into the house and went straight into my room and opened my new computer. There was an E-mail from Alice.

" Bella,

Sorry I haven't got back to you, I've not been around a computer lately, but I'm going to be back in forks for a couple of weeks. Don't come to the house, I have guests. Guests you won't want to meet. I'll come and see you every so often.

Alice. "

I sighed after I had read the message. She had "Guests"? What kind of guests? My curiosity got the better of me, and I almost ran to my car, at which time I was stopped… By Alice.

"Alice!" I hugged her and she wrapped her arms around me.

She pulled away and I could see in her eyes she was hungry. "Bella I told you not to come to the house! You didn't listen to me."

"I'm sorry Alice I just wanted to see your company."

She looked at me lovingly. "My company is some friends from Texas. They don't stick to the lifestyle we do so it wouldn't be wise for you to spend time around them."

So they killed humans. Jake wouldn't have that.

"I send them away for their meals though." Alice said.

Meals. I like the way she put it. Alice stroked my hair and I pushed into her hand. Alice suddenly looked round. I looked behind her, and stood there was a woman. She was beautiful. She had long flowing red hair and deep crimson eyes to match. She smiled at me. I grabbed Alice even tighter and pulled her close. I was scared.

Alice sighed and looked back at me. "This is Amber."

"So you're the girl Alice is always going on about." The red eyed vampire walked ever so close to me. She had a very distinctive southern drawl.

"You're Alice's guest?"

She looked at Alice, the way Alice looks at me. "I guess you can say that." She looked back at me and smirked.

I wasn't best pleased.

"Amber please, don't wind her up. Just go now okay, you've met her."

She seemed pleased with herself. "Okay Alice I'll leave. I'll be back late thought, Seattle will keep my busy." She winked at Alice.

"Just go." Alice said, a bitter tone in her voice.

With that, Amber had gone. Disappeared. Alice dragged me inside the house and up into my room.

She lay me down on the bed and kissed me. "Go to sleep Bella you look as if you've had a tiring day."

She was right. I had. "Why don't you go and hunt Alice, your hungry."

Alice shrugged. "I'll hunt when you've fallen asleep. I want to spend as much time with you as I can." She smiled widely at me, I fell in love yet again.

I changed into my nightwear and got into bed. Alice lay next to me and put her arms around me, her coolness sent a little chill down my spine but I loved the feeling. It was the feeling of Alice. I couldn't get what the vampire had said out of my head though, it was running through my mind. Was Alice doing anything with this vampire? It was too much to think about at this time, I would ask her in the morning.


	11. Chapter 11

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. Alice had gone in the night and she hadn't come back. I felt a little upset about this, why hadn't she come back? She always does. Never mind, I said to myself, and got up and got dressed. I went downstairs for some breakfast and saw Charlie sat at the table in his police uniform, an empty cereal bowl infront of him and a paper in his hands.

"You came in late last night Dad, I didn't hear you. Must have been asleep." I still felt a little groggy so decided to sit down with him before I got my own breakfast.

He "Hmm'd" Must have been a long shift, he did look a little tired himself.

"You know Bella," He paused and put down his paper, "I don't know where all these creatures come from. It's like they all decide to live here in Forks. God knows why we'll be running out of people soon enough."

I looked at him and sighed. More deaths I guessed. Victoria maybe? Or other vampires? Maybe that Amber woman had done this. My blood boiled at the thought of Amber. I hated her this morning more than I hated her last night. That reminded me of Alice. If she didn't appear this morning, I would have to threaten to go to her house again. That way, she would come to me. Genius. As if it was fate there was a knock at the door. Alice? I ran and opened it, and there stood Alice. Her smile brightened up my morning.

"Can I come in?" She beamed at me.

Like she needs to even ask. "Of course."

I bowed sarcastically and moved out of her way. She laughed.

"Morning Charlie!" She sang as she skipped into the kitchen.

The colour of her eyes gave away the reason why she was so happy.

"Morning Alice." He picked up his paper again.

"Have you started making your breakfast yet Bella?" Alice cocked her head a little. God I loved this girl.

I shook my head.

"Well how about I take you for breakfast, then we go shopping in the city later?"

I looked at Charlie and he shrugged his shoulders. "Don't look at me Bella, I'm gonna be at work all day, feel free to go."

I smiled at Alice and she squeaked a little. "Lets go then!"

I went upstairs to get properly ready for going out and then went back downstairs. We both said our goodbyes to Charlie then walked outside to Alice's car. By the time I had sat in the passenger seat she was already in the drivers seat with her belt on and had started the car. Damn vampires move too quickly. She had already started driving, so i guessed that she knew where she was taking me.

"You've got something on your mind." Alice said matter-of-factly and looked over at me.

I nodded. It was Amber. "It's Amber thats bothering me."

Alice nodded at me. "How did I guess you didn't like her." She smiled to herself and looked back at the road. "To be entirely honest, I don't like her much myself, although she is a bit obsessed with me." Her eyebrows creased.

I felt the jealous side of me rear its ugly head and scoffed. "You sure you don't like her?"

"Bella, I only have eyes for you. Never, ever worry about that."

I looked out of my window and saw that we had arrived at our destination. Alice suddenly appeared in my eyesight. She opened my door and helped me out. I looked up at the restaurant and saw it was the one we had our first date at. Alice smiled at me and I smiled back. She grabbed my hand and walked me in, her coolness calming me down. We walked into the entrance and the waiter showed us to our table, the most secluded one in the restaurant. We sat down and resumed our conversation.

"Do you believe me when I say I only have eyes for you?" She looked deep into my eyes.

I did believe her. I was being stupid when I even thought of her messing around behind my back. I just don't trust this Amber vampire. "It's your friends I don't like. I worry that they will… I don't know. I mean, Amber is gorgeous, as much as I hate her, I'd totally understand why you would, do something with her." I prodded the table with my fingers when Alice put her hand under my chin and pulled it up so I was looking at her.

"There's one thing you don't understand about vampires, we don't fall in and out of love like humans do. You are my soulmate, my lover, my everything. You mean the world to me Bella. No-one has ever got me like you have, ever. I'll always be here for you even if you don't want me, I'll be in the background. Making sure you are okay." Alice grabbed my hands and held them tight.

So some vampires really do have souls. She poured every emotion she had right out onto the table infront of me. "I don't ever want you in the background. I want you, forever." Alice leant across the table and kissed me.

A cough came from behind my head and as I pulled away from Alice the waiter placed menu's infront of me and Alice. Alice handed hers straight back, with the excuse that she had already eaten. I ordered myself some breakfast and ate it in record time. As soon as I'd finished the waiter came back and took the plate away from the table.

"Anything else for you?" He was quite a young guy the waiter. Short jet black hair and bright green eyes, quite a catch for any normal young girl. I didn't quite class myself as normal.

"No thank you. Just the bill please." Asked Alice in her singy tone.

He smiled at her, clearly taken by her good looks. Alice looked back at me and winked, getting up from the table and walking me to the car, leaving a hefty tip for the waiter.

Two hours later and we were deep in the city centre, walking around the biggest shopping mall I had ever seen in my life. The entire place was made mostly out of glass, which added a nice natural light to the place. In the very centre of the mall, there was a water fountain sat underneath two sets of stairs and a couple of elevators. Attached to Alice's arms were bags of expensive clothes, for both me and her. Alice spared no expense when it came to clothes, or anything for that matter. My stomach rumbled and Alice laughed.

"My god you're always hungry Bella!" She giggled and kissed my cheek.

I directed her to a fast food chain and ordered a meal for myself, stupidly asking Alice if she wanted anything. Her reply to that was obviously a no. We'd been together for over a year and I was still not used to her not eating, it was a very strange thing. I was indulged in my meal when Alice looked over my shoulder and half-waved at someone. I turned round and saw another vampire. I could tell by the eyes and skin, bright gold and skin as pale as a sheet of paper. I looked back of Alice.

"Another of your many friends?" I questioned.

She nodded and before I knew it the vampire appeared at the side of me.

"Alice, it's been so long!" The vampire said in a soft tone, a smile so bright. She reminded me of Alice somehow, although I couldn't pinpoint just why that was. Maybe it was the likeness between them, they could pass as family.

"Indeed it has. Charlotte, this is Bella. Bella, this is Charlotte." Alice introduced us and I barely heard her, I couldn't stop looking at the vampire.

"Pleasure to meet you Bella." She was still smiling, baring her lovely teeth at me.

I just smiled back, half frozen. She got a chair and pulled it up to our table. I realised that I was staring and stopped straight away, re starting my meal. I'd eaten more than I thought I had and found myself with no food left on my plate.

"I'm Charlotte by the way, don't quite think you heard Alice introduce me."

I swear she winked at me and I just froze again. I heard Alice laughing and I looked over at her.

"Are you two related?" I couldn't help but ask.

They both laughed. "No we're not. Find me as attractive as Alice do you?"

I blushed. Badly. "I…I was just wondering." I stuttered. She was so gorgeous. I was thinking very indecent thoughts about her, feeling glad that Alice couldn't read my mind.

Charlotte stood up and put the chair under the table. "It was lovely meeting you Bella, I'll see you soon Alice."

She walked like a supermodel, and looked just like one.

Alice broke my moment of awe as she spoke to me. "Just to let you know Bella, Charlotte can read minds."

That stopped my trail of thought immediately. "She can read minds." I paused, and thought about it for a second. "Could she read every thought I had?"

Alice nodded and laughed. "Every, single, thought."

Good god. Please no.

Alice stood up. "Come on Bella, I think you've had enough excitement for today, lets head home."

And with that, we did.


	12. Chapter 12

I woke up the next morning and saw Alice through my half closed eyes. Everything about her was so perfect, even first thing in the morning.

"It's nine-thirty." She whispered ever so softly.

I groaned at the thought of having to move. Alice kissed my forehead and move swiftly around my room. When I lifted my head to see what she was doing she had lay my clothes out ready for me, all new clothes that she bought me yesterday. I put my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes again.

"Come on baby, it's time to get up now." She whispered in my ear. She stroked my hair and kissed me gently, waking me slowly.

I rolled over and got out of bed, stretched and yawned. I turned round to look at Alice and she was lay on my bed watching me. "Please don't watch me dress Alice." I said groggily.

"You're beautiful Bella, besides, I've seen you naked plenty of times." Alice winked at me.

I smirked at the memories that flashed through my head. "Fine." There was no point in arguing with her, I wasn't going to win.

I got dressed as fast as I could, then washed myself so I looked reasonably presentable. I walked back into my room to find it empty. I looked around cautiously, expecting Alice to pop out from somewhere. I shrugged my shoulders and carried on with my morning routine, then went downstairs to get breakfast. Alice was already sat at the table, cereals sat infront of where I was to be sitting. I smiled at Alice and started my breakfast.

"So you were quite taken by Charlotte yesterday then." Alice said matter-of-factly.

I blushed bright red and looked down into my cereal. "She is very pretty. Are you sure you're not related?" I looked back up at Alice.

"No we're not. Not at all. I don't honestly see where the resemblance is." she chuckled.

I shrugged. It was probably her beauty. Charlotte was gorgeous, so gorgeous. Not as lovely as Alice, but god-damn she was good to look at. "So how do you know her?"

Alice sighed. "It's a long story Bella."

I blinked. "I've got time."

"We used to hunt together." She folded her hands and looked down at the table. "She was one of the first Vampires I met, and she offered to help me. We spent years together. After around twenty years, I started to feel guilty about killing humans, I could see every emotion as I drained the life from them, and I hated it. Charlotte felt the same way but had tried to suppress the feelings she had, claiming that she was a Vampire and shouldn't feel anything. That was when I went to find Carlisle. Charlotte came with me, and spent a number of years with us, but eventually she found her soulmate. She left us to be with him, and we wished her all the luck in the world. We kept in touch and saw each other every so often which was nice, but it wasn't the same."

"So, you used to sleep with her?" I questioned her. From what Alice had just said thats what I grasped. "You used to date her, and then her boyfriend kind of, took her away from you?"

Alice looked at me with a blank expression.

"But I thought Vampires don't fall in and out of love like humans do? Thats what you said yourself."

"We don't. I was never in love with her, it was…" She paused and breathed deeply. "It was just sex really. We were there for each other and, things just escalated."

I nodded. "So you don't have any feelings for her?"

She shook her head. "I never really did. It was just sex, but it was also nice to have someone there for you. As soon as I met you thought, everything I had ever felt before felt like nothing. I don't ever want anyone else and I never will. I promise you that Bella."

I took every single word in. I believed her fully. I got up from the table and walked around to her side of the table and sat on her knee, putting my legs around the back of the chair. Alice put her hands under my top and caressed my back. Her coolness sent chills down my spine and I pressed myself against her. She kissed me so passionately. I was in heaven. Suddenly she stood up, hitching me up so she could carry me, and took me upstairs into my room and carefully placed me on the bed. She clambered on and crawled on top of me, lowering her body onto mine. I held her tight and kissed her, I never wanted this to end.

"I love you so much Bella." She whispered in between kisses, and moved lower down on my body, sending me into complete ecstasy.

The rest of the day pretty much flew by. It was lovely to spend time with Alice, but soon enough she had to go. The next day she invited me round to her house, wanting to explain everything to me. I was nervous. Were her 'guests' still there? If they were I was gonna have a hard time. Charlie was happy to see me going out so often, he hated it when I moped around the house. I made my way to Alice's house, or mansion as I liked to call it. I pulled up outside in my van and saw no cars outside the house. It surprised me. Maybe her friends were out. I opened the door and climbed out, walking slowly towards the house. Before I had chance to knock on the door Alice opened it. I threw my arms around her and she held me close. Alice guided me into the lounge and sat there were her friends.

"Hello again Bella." Charlotte winked at me and I flushed.

I looked around and saw Charlotte's partner, that damned Amber and her partner also. I shivered slightly as Amber's eye bore deep into mine, piercing into my skull. I was surrounded by red eyes, lustful looks came from every direction.

"I want to explain everything to you Bella, I feel that I've been hiding things from you, and I know you've felt the same." Alice sat me down on the sofa, opposite the red eyed Amber and partner and next to Charlotte.

Alice took a deep breath. "The Voltori have been getting involved in our relationship. They've got wind of what's happening between us and they don't like it. They think I've been breaking the rules. I needed backup, hence why I have brought some of my good friends here. Rachel and Lauren have gone, two sisters that live in south America. They have all been watching you, to prove to the Voltori that no rules have been broken, and that there is no need for them to get involved in things. Whether they've listened to us or not I am not aware yet, and I guess we'll find out if they want us."

Silence filled the room as I took in all the information Alice had just fed me. The Voltori. Vampire government as such. Why are they fixated on our relationship. It hasn't broken any rules surely? "Why do they think we've been breaking the rules?" I looked at Alice.

"As vampires, we are not supposed to tell any human about our existence. That way we can keep ourselves to ourselves, and carry on living our lives. Could you imagine if Vampires were outed? Humans wouldn't know how to handle it, and thats what the Voltori are afraid of. Theres also the fact that we are in a relationship. We're not really… supposed to be in a relationship. I couldn't not be with you, so I never told you about that."

"So you had to have witnesses that proved I was keeping schtum about the whole vampire thing?"

Alice nodded. Suddenly, the man sat next to Amber shot out of the room, followed by Amber. I looked quizzically at Alice.

"He's not used to being around humans."

I nodded. Questions were still floating through my mind. I had so much to ask her. "So what was Charlottes part in this?"

"I was there to watch you as well." Charlotte chirped up. "Alice didn't know about it, hence why she was so surprised to see me."

Alice was surprised? I don't think I've ever seen her surprised.

"The thing is Bella, I have a question for you." She prodded my arm. "When we were sat in the restaurant, I was trying to read your thoughts."

I gulped. Alice had told me about this. I had been thinking, god awful thoughts about this woman.

"I couldn't read any at all."

I looked at her, shocked.

"You intrigue me Bella. Why cant I hear what you're thinking?"

"How can that happen?" Alice sounded a little taken aback.

Charlotte shrugged. "I don't know, but its very frustrating." She gives me another wink, stands up and pulls her partner out of the room.

I give a slight sigh of relief, and it doesn't go amiss by Alice.

"Do I even need to guess why you sighed?" She pulled me into her and lay back on the sofa, stretching right out, her coolness surrounding me.

"Because I am now, not surrounded by red eyed ravenous vampires… perhaps thats why!" I raised my eyebrows at her, and she planted a kiss on my cheek and hmm'd. She didn't need to know my lustful thoughts about Charlotte.

She stroked my hair and I held onto her, not wanting to move for anything.


End file.
